Pad for packing articles



Nov. 8, 1960 R. J. HENNESSEY PAD FOR PACKING -AR'rIcmzzs med oct. 15, 195e INVENTOR /4 m i )N f4 fa 4 /9 Q59 @Z5 25227 3/2 Z4/9 0/5 r/ f A Jl- 4,4; 4

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PAD FOR PACKING ARTICLES Filed Oct. 15, 1956, Ser. No. 615,980

5 Claims. (Cl. 229-40) This invention relates to an improvement in pad for packing cylindrical objects and the like, and deals particularly with a means of protecting small objects during shipment.

Various means have been provided for the packing of small objects such as lipsticks and the like to protect the same during transportation. In some instances relatively thick material such as corrugated paperboard has been used and this material is provided with apertures therethru into which the object may be inserted. However, unless the pads of material are covered in some way, the object being packed may slip from the protective packing through an end of the aligned apertures in the various pads. As the lipsticks and items of this type are of a thickness equal to perhaps four thicknesses of corrugated paperboard it is usually necessary to assemble four die cut pads, arrange them in superimposed relation, insert the lipstick into the aligned apertures, and to cover the pads in such a way as to prevent the lipstick from sliding out of place. Such an arrangement is costly from a labor standpoint as considerable time is required to pack the goods.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of a single pad made up in a series of pad sections foldably connected together. These pads are designed to fold into superimposed relation and the pads are provided with suitable recesses for containing the lipstick or other objects so that considerable time may be saved in the assembly process. Furthermore as all of the pad sections are foldably connected, the apertures or recesses automatically swing into alignment as the pad is folded.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a protective pad having areas which are partially cut out and crushed to provide pockets which are closed on one side. By cutting a pre-determined area of the pad through one of the liners and through the corrugated intermediate layer but not through the other liner, the portion dened by the cut line may be crushed until it is substantially flat thereby providing a pocket into which a portion of an object may be inserted but which is closed at the bottom of the pocket. Thus in the operation of the pad, these pockets form closures for the aperture in which the objects is accommodated, thereby avoiding the requirement of a separate closure sheet.

A feature of the specific arrangement of the apparatus lies in the provision of a pad made up of four sections of corrugated board or of sufficient sections to build up the proper thickness to accommodate the article to be shipped. These pad sections are connected together preferably along parallel lines of fold. The end two sections of the series are provided with apertures cut through the pad and of proper size and shape to it the article to be packed. These two sections are designed to be folded onto the inner two sections of the pad structure. The inner two pad sections are provided with areas which are cut through the liner of the sheet which is in surface contact with the outer pad sections and through the cor- States Patent rugated inner medium. The bottom liners of these pad n 2,959,340 Patented Nov. 8, 1960 tend. The articles to be packed may then be placed in to the aperture of one of the outer sections and into the recessed portion of the inner section in registry with the aperture of the outer section. The remaining two seotions, which have been folded into superimposed relation, may then be folded over the object to be packed to entirely enclose this object. As a result, the pad entirely encloses the object and the object cannot fall out of place as long as the pad sections remain in superimposed relation.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a pad having a series of sections, four such sections being indicated in the particular type of pad illustrated. The outer two pad sections at each end of the series are connected by a hinged line which is formed by partially cutting through the pad and crushing the area of the pad between closely spaced cut lines. The cut lines extend through the upper liner and through the corrugated medium but do not extend through the lower liner. As a result, the outer two sections remain foldably connected but the natural tendcney of the corrugated board to unfold and to assume a common plane is almost entirely eliminated due to that fact that the outer sections are connected only by a single relatively thin liner sheet. As a result the outer sections may be folded upon the inner sections and will normally remain in this folded condition until the article has been packed and the pad entirely closed.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the fact that the inner two pads of the series are connected in a manner to provide an intermediate wall of sufficient thickness to permit the inner pads to enclose the outer pads of the series when the pad is folded shut. In other words, an intermediate wall is provided between the inner pad sections, this wall being of suiiicient width to permit the inner pad sections to fold into parallel relation while enclosing the outer sections of the series.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

)Figure l is a perspective view of the pad in closed position showing the general arrangement of parts there- Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View through the pad showing the cuts and recesses which are formed therein.

'Figure 3 is a perspective View of the pad in open position.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the pad in partiallyl clo-sed position.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the type of board which is normally used in the production of the pad.

The pad A is, in the particular arrangement illustrated, used to protect a lipstick B during transportation and storage. Obviously, the pad could be used for other purposes, and it is not essential that the articles packed be cylindrical, as other shaped articles could similarly be packed. g

There are many problems in the production of a pad made of thick corrugated paperboard and including sev` eral sections which are designed to lie flat upon one-another to produce a neat and attractive structure. It is impractical to place score lines too close together in View' of the fact that the necessary make-ready cannot be placed on the press between these score lines. At the beginning it was thought impractical to make the present pad in asingle operation. However, by constructing the pad .in

numerals 10, 11, 12, and 13. All four of theseV sections are of substantially equal area.

The outer pad sections and 13 are provided with a generally rectangular aperture therethru, these apertures being indicated at 14 and 15 respectively. The apertures 14 and 15 are of proper dimensions to accommodate the lipstick B or other element to be packaged,

An unusual form of crease is shown connecting the pads 10 and 13 and the next adjoining sections 11 and 12. These fold lines 16 and 17 are formed by providing a pair of parallel cut creases 19 and 20v partially through the corrugated paperboard, these cut creases extending through the upper layer of the paperboard and into the corrugated intermediate layer thereof. As is indicated in the drawings, the corrugated board of which the pad is formed includes an upper liner 21, a parallel lower liner 22, and a corrugated intermediate layer 23. The corrugated inner layer is adhered between the inner and outer layers 21 and 22. The cut score lines 19 and 20 do not impair the strength of the lower liner 22 but do cut through the outer layer 21 and intermediate layer 23. The strip of board between the cut score lines 19 and 20 is compressed against the under layer 22 of the bo-ard so that at the completion of the operation, the portion of the board 24 is perhaps only half as thick as the entire board and can be even of lesser thickness.

The two pad sections 11 and 12 are hingedly connected to an intermediate wall panel indicated by the numeral 25. Creases 26 and 27 connect the sections 11 and 12 to the panels 25 and 26. This arrangement is permissible as thewall panel 25 is of suicient width so that the necessary make-ready may be applied to the press between the score lines 26 and 27.

Recesses 29 and 30 are formed in the panels 11 and 12 in registry with the apertures 14 and 15 of the panel sections 10 and 13 when these last mentioned panel sections are folded into surface contact with the panel sections 11 and 12. These recesses 29 and 30` are formed by providing rectangular cut creases through the upper liner 21 and the corrugated intermediate layer 23, leaving the lower liner 22 un-impaired in strength. The areas within the rectangular cut score lines are compressed to a portion of the original thickness thereby forming recesses which extend perhaps half of the way through the thickness of the paperboard from which the pad is made. The depth of these recesses 29 and 30, combined with the thickness of the corrugated board in which the apertures 14 and 15 are provided, total the diameter of the article B being packed.

In the packaging of the article B, the two end panels 10 and 13 are folded to overlie the next adjoining panels 11 and 12. The panels 10 and 13 may lie flush against the surface of the panels 11 and 12 due to the particular type of hinge connection between these panels. By forming the spaced cut scores 19 and 20, and compressing the area between these cut score lines, the portion 16 of the paperboard may form a connecting wall which is of a width substantially equal to twice the thickness of the corrugated board. Thus the adjoining end panels may fold flush and flat against one-another. The article B may be inserted in the aperture in one of the uppermost panels and the various panels may then be folded along the fold lines 26 and 27 to arrange the two-halves of the pad in superimposed relation. In view of the fact that the inner panel sections 12 and 11 are spaced apart by a wall 25, the two sections may rest flush and dat upon oneanother. The two sections may then be connected by a strip of tape 31 or by other suitable means.

This particular arrangement of parts has certain advantages. For many years it has been common practiceyto, foldtwo panels so as to lie dat against one- 4. another by forming a cut score through one liner and adjoining corrugated medium and then folding the pad so that the unimpaired liner is on the inside and the cut scores are on the outside. In other words, the pad A could be successfully formed by providing cut scores in the under surface of the pad between the panel sections 10 and 11 and between the panel sections 12 and 13 respectively. This has two disadvantages. In the first place the cut scores thus formed will disclose the interior of the corrugated board when the pad is viewed from the outside in folded condition as the corrugated medium would be exposed along the edges. This arrangement also permits dust and dirt to enter the interior of the package through these corrugations. This arrangement also has the decided disadvantage that it would be necessary to run the pad twice so as to put the round scores 26 and 27 and the cut scored recesses 29 and Sil in one side of the sheet and then to produce the remaining cut scores inthe opposite side of the sheet. In such an arrangement, the

apertures 14 and 15 could be formed from either side of' the sheet. Obviously the cost of processing the blanks: formed in this way is materially higher due to the, doubling of the die cutting cost.

With the present arrangement, the entire blank may be formed in a single operation and -by crushing the areasA between the cut score lines 19 and 20 the two adjoining panels at each end of the pad may be folded into parallel surface contact and at the same time the connecting wall 16 forms a closure to conceal the corrugated intermediate medium and to prevent dirt from entering the package through the flutes of the corrugations. Furthermore the recesses formed in the panels by cut scoring the` rectangular areas and crushing these portions of the pad provide a cushioning for the contents of the package which would otherwise be difcult to obtain without adding additional cushioning panels of the corrugated material.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my pad and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A pad for containing an object during shipment, the pad including a pair of sections, each section including a pair of connected panels of corrugated paperboard having parallel liners and an intermediate corrugated medium adhered between said liners, said panels being designed to fold into surface contact, and a hinge connection between said panels including a pair of parallel cuts through one liner and the corrugated medium, the other liner remaining intact, the cut liner land corrugated medium between said cuts being crushed against said intact liner to reduce the thickness of the area between said cuts.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said sections are hingedly connected together.

3. The structure of claim l and including a side wall between said sections hingedly connecting a panel of one section to a panel of the other section.

4. A pad for containing an object during shipment, the pad including four panels of substantially similar area and foldable into superposed relation, the panels including outer panels having apertures therethrough of a size to snugly accommodate the object, the inner of said panels having recesses therein, said recesses being defined by continuous cut lines, the pad being formed of corrugated paperboard having inner and outer liners and a corrugated medium adhered therebetween, said cut lines extending through one liner and the corrugated medium and the area within said cut lines being crushed against the other of said liners, the cut lines substantially following the contour of the object, the outer panels being folded inwardlyv of `the Yin 1;ter. panelstov which'they areisecuredf,

dened by parallel cut lines, the cut lines extending 5 2,634,046 through one liner and said corrugated medium, this area being crushed against the other liner.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 1,097,390 Corwin May 19, 1914 6 Smith June 10, 1930 -Larnare Apr. 20, 1937 Kieckhefer Nov. 23, 1937 Berger Mar. 22, 1938 Weber Apr. 7, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 30, 1937 

